"Charles Manson kills people. I talk. Everyone has a talent."

[archerships]

Just saw Thank You For Smoking. I loved it! Funniest movie I've seen since Little Miss Sunshine. Aaron Eckhart plays Nick Naylor, a lobbyist for the Academy of Tobacco Studies. Nick's a "natural" lobbyist, so skilled at his job that reporters call him the "Sultan of Spin". The movie depicts Nick's life as he enthusiastically defends Big Tobacco in the media, and the troubles his job causes him in his personal life.

You'd expect Eckhart to play him as a total sleazeball. And yet, while Nick definitely does some "morally flexible" things, for the most part Eckhart plays him as a mostly decent, mostly honorable man. You can't help but cheer for him. The rest of the cast is similarly top-notch. For example, William H. Macy plays Sen. Ortolan Finistirre, an anti-tobacco crusading senator from Vermont (and Nick's bete noire), Mario Bello plays a fellow lobbyist for Big Alcohol, and Sam Elliot is an ex-Marlboro Man who's dying of cancer.

All of the characters are smart and plausible. Unlike many movies, at no point did I think "Argh! His character wouldn't do that!" Everything the actors do is in keeping with their characters.

Fans of Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day will be interested to learn that it's directed by Jason Reitman, Ivan Reitman's son. Judging from Thank You For Smoking, the younger Reitman inherited his father's gift for intelligent humor. I look forward to more movies directed by him.

Comments

[crasch.livejournal.com]

Nick: Okay, let's say that you're defending chocolate and I'm defending vanilla. Now, if l were to say to you "Vanilla's the best flavor ice cream," you'd say...?.
Joey: "No, chocolate is."
Nick: Exactly. But you can't win that argument. So, I'll ask you. So you think chocolate is the end-all and be-all of ice cream, do you?.
Joey: It's the best ice cream; I wouldn't order any other.
Nick: Oh. So it's all chocolate for you, is it?.
Joey: Yes, chocolate is all I need.
Nick: Well, I need more than chocolate. And for that matter, I need more than vanilla. I believe that we need freedom and choice when it comes to our ice cream, and that,Joey Naylor,that is the definition of liberty.
Joey: But that's not what we're talking about.
Nick: Ah, but that's what I'm talking about.

[gentlemaitresse.livejournal.com]

Do you think this would be a good movie for an older teen to see, to help her get a feel for the process of lobbying and such?

[crasch.livejournal.com]

Yes, I think it would be good movie for anyone over 14 to see. (Younger kids might find it boring.) It's "R" for foul language and a non-nude sex scene, if that's a concern for you.

[the-xtina.livejournal.com]

Ha!  I watched that yesterday!

[crasch.livejournal.com]

* high five *

Great Movie

[w-b-yeats.livejournal.com]

It was a big hit around here in Washington DC. I saw it with a bunch of hillrats, and after we went out drinking at the bar The Merchants of Death met up in. Round robin at the Algonquin hotel. I think it's a pretty accurate depiction of PR people around here.

[smjayman.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I thought it was brilliantly smart and funny. I've recommended it to everybody as well.

[snarkyshark2.livejournal.com]

ahh, I loved that movie too!